Bringing Back Irish Music: 50 Years for The Chieftains

Fan video: shots of Ireland and "O'Sullivan's March" by The Chieftains.

Sometimes reading an encyclopedia isn’t so bad. Here’s the first sentence under the entry “The Chieftains” in Contemporary Musicians:

“In the early 1950’s, Irish music wasn’t even popular in Ireland

Irish folk music was for the old folks; all the hip dudes were learning to play American pop tunes.

But, a young Paddy Maloney started learning to play the old-time stuff, much to the puzzlement of his neighbors

Now, 50 years later, the Chieftains have been in the forefront of a revival and traveled the world, from Texas to China.

They’ve also collaborated with dozens of artists, including Jackson Bowne, Nancy Griffith, Elvis Costello, Rickie Lee Jones, and Burgess Meredith.

I count 22 Chieftains albums on Freegal, all available for free and legal download, from libraries that have access to the service.



I can't resist including some other pictures of Ireland I found on Wikimedia Commons.



Franciscan Friary, Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland   image credit 



 Old farm building at Gorticrum Irish.  image credit



Flowers blooming in Ireland in October  image credit



Kilkenny Castle in Ireland  image credit